Have you ever collaborated with a group of friends, or even like minded strangers? There’s an awesome synergy in working with groups – they push you a little and support you a lot. And the best part is, even if you start off as strangers, you end up with new friends by the end. Sadly this is the last post with this amazing group of women. I’m going to miss working with them, but the great part is I can still follow all their new projects online, and you can too! Be sure to check out the links at the bottom of the post – I’m sure you’ll find some blogs you’ll want to follow.

And now for the last project! This month, the theme is yarn. Our sponsor is Lion Brand Yarns who sent me the most beautiful LB Collection Wool Yarn – a super bulky 100% wool in a beautiful soft ivory colour. I’d love to use this yarn for a stunning throw, or maybe a cowl scarf. But I’ve had a wall hanging on my list for a while, and this yarn was perfect for it.

With wall hangings, you could use macramé techniques that create intricate patterns, but I took the easy way out and just let the yarn hang from the top. I started with a trip to the back garden to find a nice raw looking stick, hunted in my daughters’ knitting bins for odd balls of wool, and just went for it. One of the nice surprises of using miscellaneous yarn like I did happened when I found 2 partially finished headbands that my oldest girl had made, and decided to steal and unravel repurpose the yarn for this project. Instead of the yarn falling straight, it had a gorgeous curly texture and added a really nice touch to the finished hanging.

You could go for a minimal look and use a single yarn. But I decided to mix it up and add some colour. Some grey scraps and a beautiful colour washed rose yarn were neutral enough, but really added some interest. And I really wanted to integrate a pottery heart I had been saving for a project like this as a nice focal point.

The technique is pretty simple. First, put on a fun Netflix series like The Crown or the Gilmore Girls revival. Then just start looping some yarn around the stick in a random pattern and keep building until you’re satisfied. It’s really as easy as that!

I hung my heart from the middle with wool. And then, because tassels make everything better, I made a few to add to the hanging. To make these, I just wound the yarn around my phone to create a yarn bundle, then tied some wool near the top to hold it together. I cut the bottom and gave it a little haircut to tame any strays strands. And that’s it – done!

Now I’ll share a little behind the scenes story. When I went to hang it to take the photos, I used an existing picture hanging hook, which was really too small for the branch. “It’ll be fine,” I told myself. Besides, I was in a hurry.

Nope, it wasn’t fine. Within about 5 minutes of completing my project and about 10 seconds of hanging it, it fell off the wall and the pottery heart I had been saving broke in half. That heart you see in the picture is actually held together by duct tape at the back, and one very frustrated blogger took that picture.

Moral of the story? Hang your heart on something sturdy, or it will get broken. And if it does, duct tape helps 😉

Now it’s time to see the rest of the DIY YARN project ideas from my Canadian blogging friends.

I know what you mean! I’ll be sad to leave this challenge group, I’ve grown immensely throughout it! Back to the project though – this wall hanging is beautiful! I love the different types of yarn used. It’s all so “you.” Well done!

Awww, your behind the scenes is a little sad, but I love the what you said,”hang your heart on something sturdy, or it will get broken” This is great advise! And… I”m so sad about this being our last project… but you never know what will happen in 2017! 😉

I love this wall hanging, it’s so pretty and full of texture and that gorgeous mended heart is stunning. <3